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Model 3 Test Drives

Model 3 Test Drives

Submitted by rbrown3rd on February 23, 2017

Surely, at some point, there will be some Model 3's deployed so that reservation holders will get to actually see and drive one. What do you guys think?

jonathanbrown1265 |
February 23, 2017

300 pilot vehicles being produced now should after testing will head to dealerships across the country for test drives. I'm guessing one base model and one fully loaded for each showroom...for us to see and test drive. I'm hopeful for a fire engine youthful red model 3 with a black interior...

I'm planinning awd and hopefully a battery pack to hit sixty in 4 flat....and I'm good to go...if I have enough room in pricing to add autonomous mode at delivery as opposed to later in...

I'm not doing sunroofs, glass roofs, stereo packages, heated side view mirrors or steering wheel, no air suspension and I'll probably go with base wheels and tires....for a winter set...I'll buy a larger summer set afterward if I want them...

I'm hopeful to get in under 50 or 55 grand..with the performance battery...it doesn't look like my ludicrious dreams coming in under 55....and I can't justify more cash for a sedan.even if it looks like an Aston Martin four door sexy beast...

I don't care about range past 215 miles as that's about 3 days of driving without charging....which I'll do nightly...and I have other vehicles a Cadillac and a corvette for longer trips that I never take...lol

rbrown3rd |
February 23, 2017

The deployment of those first 300 pilot production cars as demonstrators sounds logical to me. That was what I was guessing too. I'm curious about HUD and some further refinements to the dash area. To me, the way the screen is attached looks almost like an afterthought rather than a fully integrated display. I'm more interested in range and autopilot than glass roofs etc. There are enough Superchargers in Florida that I could travel from West Palm Beach to Tampa feasibly. Mostly, interested in driving locally with energy captured by my solar panels. I have had 4.4 kilowatts of PV panels on my roof for ten years now. Makes sense to use the excess, now selling to the utility, to power a car.

jordanrichard |
February 23, 2017

Sorry to burst your bubble, but they are not going to be sending a fleet of M3's out to their stores as demonstrators. Per the Earnings Call last night, there isn't even going to be a "final reveal" for the car. The first cars are going to be delivered to employees, so that if should there be any bugs/issues, they will have instant feedback. So essentially the employees will be the real world testers before non employee cars are delivered.

You can be assured that once the first cars are delivered to employees of Tesla/Space X, there will be videos.

Tesla was delivering Model X's for I think 3-5 months before they had any to be sent out as demonstrators.

dsvick |
February 23, 2017

Any references to "300 cars being produced" is strictly a rumor based on a report last year that they had ordered enough parts to make 300 vehicles. At no point did Tesla say they were going to do that, in fact the original article that reported it said that they wouldn't be building 300 cars out of them.

All they'll be building for the next couple of months will be very small numbers of cars so that they can work out all the kinks in the production line and for test purposes. It probably won't be until they start volume production in September that you'll see some built that can be sent to stores for test drives and such.

Red Sage ca us |
February 23, 2017

There are currently about 100 Tesla Stores/Galleries in the U.S. If two cars were sent to each location, one for display, the other for test drives, 200 cars total... At 5,000 cars Produced per week that would amount to about 4% of the week's output. Only 5% of 4,000 per week. 10% of 2,000 per week. 20% of 1,000 per week.

But if they just held back 4% each week for demo cars... That would be 40 cars out of every 1,000 built until they had 200 to send to Stores/Galleries. That should be doable, once Tesla reaches what they feel is a comfortable build rate.

CyberGaut |
February 23, 2017

Well I am hopeful that Tesla will utilize some late build mules for the showrooms, but I only expect these to be display cars. I don't think there will be any test drive cars until late this year. As Red has pointed out above that it will not take long to build out a few hundred test cars once production starts to ramp up.

I am very happy to hear that production is to start in July. I have been hopeful of a mid summer production start but it is great to hear they are on track.

Being both in Canada and not a Tesla EE, I am still expecting delivery around Feb March 2018 but ... and nice to know (feel) that I probably won't be waiting until next summer ...

Red Sage ca us |
February 23, 2017

After that only 2% of every 1,000 would need to be sent out, maybe once every three months or so. The demo cars would be put up as CPOs or whatever.

Haggy |
February 23, 2017

There will be a final reveal, but it might not be much before release date, and could in theory be on release date. There should be vehicles for test drive after that, but in a tightly controlled manner. If it's like the Model X, you won't be able to get a test drive unless you have a reservation and it's close to your time to configure. Nobody will be able to get one just to decide whether to make a reservation, and having a reservation alone won't be good enough.

Zakynthos |
February 23, 2017

Directly from the Tesla M3 FAQ page, which you can find after navigating to the "My Tesla" menu.

When can I test drive Model 3?
We will provide the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Model 3 once we begin production. In the meantime, we invite you to stop by a Tesla store to experience Model S or Model X.

Zakynthos |
February 23, 2017

@jordanrichard - Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're wrong on both fronts. Read the FAQ about test drives. Elon Musk said the final reveal would “probably” be after the Model 3 production starts in July.

JeffreyR |
February 23, 2017

@jr recalled, "Tesla was delivering Model X's for I think 3-5 months before they had any to be sent out as demonstrators."

Correct. But, they did have a traveling test drive program for reservation holders. You can ping @lilbean and @carlk to see if they took advantage of that program and what it was like (may be a post about it in Model X section).

There is nothing inconsistent w/ that approach in the FAQ answer: "We will provide the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Model 3 once we begin production."

akgolf |
March 2, 2017

Until then another test drive in a Model S set for next Tuesday in Scottsdale. Still leaning towards the 3, but while I'm in town why not.

If I'm lucky my wife will go on this test drive. Although she has blessed my purchase of either car, I haven't been able to get her to go on a test drive.